Forum Romanum

There’s nothing more amazing than learning about a place and then seeing it with your own eyes. Ever since I studied Greek and Latin in high school, I’d become fascinated with the classical world. In our fifth year (I was 16) we went on a so called ‘work week’ to Rome and it was an impressive trip. Seeing the Forum Romanum with my own eyes for the first time was amazing.

Fast forward to 2010, when my mom and I went on a city trip to Rome. The Forum left as much of an impression on me as it did then. Or maybe more so, because I’d learnt so much about that old world through studying archaeology since that first visit.

There’s something special about seeing these weathered and worn down remains of a world so many years ago. A world that impacted life in Europe greatly. The Forum Romanum is still one of the most impressive places in Rome to me. A place that used to be the centre of daily Roman life. Maybe that’s what’s drawn me to the world of archaeology: learning about where we came from, learning about how the Europe I live in today was shaped and formed over the centuries, or even millennia if you go all the way back to prehistory. And even though I don’t work in archaeology, the fascination has never gone away.

Archeology is fascinating, and as a child I saw myself digging and brushing away centuries of dust from new exceptional finds. But I did not become an archeologist, and today I know how much hard work it is – and sometimes without specific results. There still is a romantic shimmer over it though…
Forum Romanum caught me like it did you – and its power does not diminish despite how many times we visit. Beautiful entry.

Thank you! Glad to hear I’m not the only one who was fascinated by the Forum. Archaeology does indeed have a romantic shimmer over it, but excavation is hard and dirty work, like you said. Athough I’m happy in my current non-archaeology job, I love what studying archaeology gave me.

I visited the Forum a long time ago and felt the same way. It’s just incredible to think how old the structures are what they’ve seen in their lifetime. I can really understand your fascination with archaeology!